CHILDREN IN STREET HAWKING

Street hawking over the years in its nature is the most risky kind of trading not only in Ghana but the world at large. The streets are made for vehicles and the sidewalks or pavements are not wide enough r pedestrians, let alone hawkers. Street hawking has posed lots   of problems to individuals and governments. Some countries have made policies to eradicate hawking along the streets especially in the African continent but have failed. The mayor of Accra, Alfred Oko Vanderpuye tried to rid the streets of Accra of these hawkers but failed   on so many occasions. Markets have been built for hawkers to sell their wares. They however sneak their way onto the streets with the reasons that they record low sales due to the location of the market. The Odawna market is an example. The most serious phenomenon about the whole issue is when children are involved.

Children engaging in street hawking have become a canker Ghana has been dealing with over the years and still does.  It is very evident these days to notice children roaming the streets with wares such as ‘ice water’, groundnuts, biscuits, and other petty things. It is very appalling to see Metropolitan officers driving adult street hawkers away from the streets and not bothered about the children. At some times, they sell tickets to some of these children to give them permits to sell along the streets. The lives of children and more so their education are not thought of.  It seems that the laws of the country which states clearly the rights of the children have been downplayed by most of the Metropolitan officers.

Article 28, clause 2 of the 1992 constitution of Ghana states that “a child has the right to be protected from engaging in work that constitutes a threat to his health, education or development.” Clause 4 of the same article also states that “No child shall be deprived by any other person of medical treatment, education or any other social or economic benefits by reasons only of religious or other benefits.” This project provides insight into the underlying reasons why children engage in street hawking the effect it has on them and the society as a whole.

However, the major reason why children engage in street hawking is Poverty. This is due to the fact that most parents in Ghana do not have the means to secure or rent authorized places to sell their items and are also not able to fend for their numerous children. Therefore, children have literally taken to the streets of Accra selling everything from fresh fruits to toilet rolls in order to help their parents who are mostly single to finance their education or provide basic necessities.

Also, migration of children from rural to urban areas have increased due to economic hardships. Children were driven to the streets to engage in economic activities as a result of parental irresponsibility and other factors. Most of these children find themselves street hawking in order to fend for themselves.  This has increased both the occurrence of child labour and school dropout rate. During the year 2005, the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs estimated that 40,000 children of whom many are girls lived on the streets in major cities including Accra, Kumasi and Takoradi. These children, in order to fend for themselves had to sell for their employers.

Most of these children end up in prostitution, pick-pocketing and graduate to armed robbery, and most of all are knocked down by cars even though the drivers may not be reckless and this may sometimes result in disabilities. When this occurs, they are left to fend for themselves which even ends up in worse conditions.

The future of these children who engage in this risky business is at stake and since they are the future generation even if they are on the minority can we imagine what Ghana would be like in the long term?

 It would be prudent for the United Nations Organization, African Union, International Monetary Fund, Human rights NGOs, International Women and Children Institutions, Parliament, Media and other institutions which have the interest of human rights to help in the fight against street hawking. 

Although it may be difficult to eradicate it completely because of the state of the economy and the financial status of some families, I believe something can be done about the situation to help curb this phenomenon. 

If the free basic education for all children stated in the 1992 Constitution of Ghana would be implemented, most parents would allow their children to attend school and hope for the best.